Math isn't that bad
by Little Christmas Night
Summary: Do you hate school? Yes? How about math? Yes, too! Then your school life must be as horrified as this little boy Merlin Emrys': bad grades all-the-freaking-time, being bullied by almost every bullies, getting suspended, overbearing teachers,...bla...bla...bla... Urrg! It's unbearable, isn't it? But with his best friend Arthur Pendragon, let's see how he's gonna deal with them!
1. Chapter 1

** Math isn't that bad**

**chapter 1: Worst grade, again!**

Merlin sat silently at the back of the classroom, a sheet of paper was clutched in his little hands, his latest Mathematics test. Staring at the big crimson E**-**scribbled on the left corner of the sheet, the dark haired boy sighed heavily and ducked his head, trying to stop the tears forming in his limpid blue eyes from falling.

"Now I'm going to read out your names one by one," said their Math teacher, Mr. Agravaine, with his usual cold tone that never eased to send a shiver down Merlin's spine whenever he spoke. "And you will in turn read out your grades so that I can write them into your academic records."

Merlin bit his lower lip, sinking further into his chair. Why didn't Agravaine do that when he had been grading them? Instead, he had to make them read their grades out loud and embarrass themselves in front of the whole class! Okay, maybe it was only just Merlin, but still.

Gazing around the class, Agravaine began to read out the names, his voice was full of scornful boredom.

"Cenred Ellis." As the first name was called, a tall thin boy sat in the middle of the class stood up.

"D+". Cendred said with his chest puffed out smugly as if he had just received an A, which made Merlin snort.

_Well, at least his grade is better than mine. _Merlin's head dropped sadly, making a small bang when it hit the table.

Mr. Agravaine continued to read out his students' names with a scary frown on his face. "Elena Gawain".

"A". Came a respond which took no one by surprise. Elena was the best student in Merlin's class, and the fact that she had got the best grade _again_ went without saying.

The raven-haired little boy whined miserably in silence as his least favorite teacher went on reading out names, the man's icy monotone echoed on end across the classroom.

"Gilly Melling"

"B"

"Guinevere Coulby"

"B**-**"

"Lamia McKenna"

Merlin winced; his name went right after Lamia's. Trying to make himself as small as possible, Merlin wished, of no avail, that Agravaine would somehow get his head hit with a brick so that he wouldn't have to make a fool of himself in front of his classmates anymore.

After writing down a C been reading out by Lamia's horribly shrill voice, Mr. Agravaine proceeded to look at the name list for the next 'victim'.

Merlin squeezed his eyes tightly shut, waiting for his death sentence to be announced.

"Merlin Emrys"

The poor boy stood up so abruptly that he almost knocked his chair off. Merlin lifted his eyes up just a bit to look at his teacher and, _oh no_, he could have sworn that, for a brief second, Agravaine was _sneering_ at him. But his expression soon turned into something that looked neutral yet _cruel_ at the same time.

"I…e…" Merlin stuttered, his hands clutched at the edge of the table. "E minus." He said, sounding almost like a whisper.

A malicious glint appeared in Agravaine's eyes as he simply stared at Merlin made the boy fidget uncomfortably with his too-long sleeves, he quickly lowered his gaze to the table. Merlin hated Math.

"You have the worst grade," Mr. Agravaine stated slowly, that never boded well. "And if I remember correctly, this is the second time, right?"

Merlin swallowed hard and nodded his head, eyes never leaving the surface of his table.

"Well," The man went on. "I am not surprised at all. How could such an _ignorant_ student like you get any better?" He said with venom in each and every word.

Poor Merlin blushed furiously, biting his lip harder to hold back all the tears. He didn't want to hate his teacher. Why did Mr. Agravaine have to insult him like that? After all he was just a little eleven-year-old kid and really, what kind of teacher are you if you _enjoy_ hurting an eleven-year-old kid?

_Why can't he be like the other teachers? _Thought Merlin. _Like Mrs. Mithian who teaches me French. She's really beautiful and nice and always encourages me. Or my English teacher, Mr. Fisher, he always re-explains the lesson when I don't get it. Or…_

"Emrys?" the man's icy tone once again sent a shiver down Merlin's spine, breaking his flow of thinking.

"Yes Mr. Agravaine?" He asked with shaky voice.

"There's another test in store for you next month," Agravaine said slowly, looking Merlin up and down. "And if you don't get at least a D+, I'll have to talk with the headmaster."

Merlin's blood ran cold; every Camelot student who got the worst grades in class three times in a row would have to deal with their worst nightmare: Extra classes. And the headmaster, Mr. Kilgharrah, would directly arrange them.

"Do I make myself clear?" The man spat.

Merlin nodded weakly, a single pellucid tear managed to shed down his pinkish cheek.

After receiving one last glare from Agravaine, Merlin was allowed to sit down. Hugging the massive dragon backpack tightly to his chest, the boy buried his then tear-soaked face to its relaxing soft belly, ignoring the murmurs wandering around the class.

He loathed school!

_**-End chapter 1-**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Math isn't that bad**

**chapter 2: Don't mess with my idiot!**

* * *

_A/N: Please let me know if you want me to keep writing this story, thank you! :)_

* * *

"Don't be so mean Valiant." spat Cenred, punching his friend teasingly on the shoulder. "An E**-** doesn't mean Merlin is stupid, it means that his brain just hasn't fully developed yet."

With that, the two bullies burst into ruthless laughter, leaving the boy in the question using his sleeve to wipe their saliva off his face.

Merlin just scowled and went on to eat his lunch, giving no ear to their taunts. He had really hurt when the abuse had first begun but then he was used to it. It still hurt somewhat but he didn't care, he only had to behave indifferently and those jerks would finally get bored and leave him alone. That time was no exception.

Or so he thought.

"You know that they say intelligence is hereditary. If one of your parents is incapable of using his brain, you too won't be able to use yours." The bigger one, Valiant, sneered at his favorite prey. Merlin probably was the smallest child at school and that only made the bully want to hurt him even more. It was always fun to beat the crap out of those who were helpless at defending themselves.

Merlin glowered up at Valiant with restrained anger in his deep blue eyes; he could insult him as much as he wanted but _no one_ had the right to talk about his parents like that, even though his mum and dad had both died.

As if sensing Merlin's fury, the sickening excitement within Valiant rose, he finished his sentence. "Well, in this case, I think that _both_ of your parents are incompetent at their brains, consider you're _this_ stupid!"

The raven-haired little boy stood up furiously, eyes glinting with fire. He grabbed his lunch tray and tossed it vigorously at the bully. Valiant's expensive clothes were spattered with curry, ketchup and apple juice; he growled and yanked on Merlin's oversized shirt, throwing the boy onto the ground like a rag doll.

The whole canteen was chaos; students were shouting and rushing to get a better view of the fight. Merlin's head went dizzy as Valiant practically sat astride him, one hand clutching his collar while the other was clenched into a fist. "You're going to pay for that." He hissed through his teeth.

Merlin shut his eyes, waiting for a punch. He heard his grandpa's voice scolding him. _The one thing that someone like __**you **__should do is keep your head down. And what did you do? You behaved like an idiot!_

And then he was going to have a terrible bruise (or even more than a terrible bruise!) which was definitely going to stand out on his ivory pale skin.

However, that was not going to happen _yet._

"Get off him!" From out of the blue, came a strong and resolute voice, causing everyone to turn their heads.

And it was as though some kind of silencing spell was casted on every single one of them when they realized who exactly that was.

The students quickly stepped back to both sides in order to make way for the 'prince' of Camelot. Arthur Pendragon –captain of almost every sport team, along with his breathtaking handsomeness – was no doubt the most popular boy at school.

Arthur strode to the spot where Valiant was still holding Merlin to the ground; he folded his arms firmly over his chest, brows frowning with commanding bright blue eyes.

"I said," He spoke darkly, voice dangerous. " Let . him . go! "

For barely a brief second, something flashed across Valiant's face, something like _fear_. But it was soon covered by a haughty so-called smile of the young smart ass; his left hand moved to Merlin's neck and slightly squeezed it, making the much smaller boy let out a startled gasp.

Arthur's blood was boiling but he stood still, crystal blue eyes piercing into Valiant's vicious green, daring him to step further.

"Well well well, look who we've got here." The bully said with his creepy fake sweet tone, right hand patting Merlin's cheek while eyes were still focused on Arthur. "Blondie Prince, come to save your loyal dog?"

And before he knew it, the weight on Merlin's body disappeared the instant Arthur hurled himself at Valiant and shoved him off the child. The students watched in horror as Valiant slugged their popular boy, and the whole canteen exploded into action just as Arthur hit him back, sending the blighter into one of the tables. Cenred threw himself into the fray as soon as two of Arthur's friends, Gwaine and Lancelot, came bursting in.

"Hey dude, that's enough!" Cenred shouted, holding his combative company back.

"Get the hell out of this Cenred!" Valiant snarled, struggling violently to escape from the brunette's grip. "Arrogant princess and his toy pet must learn how to behave!"

"Say that again!" Arthur growled, he lunged at Valiant but was held back by four strong arms. "Let me go!" He shouted angrily.

"Whoa, whoa, calm down mate." Gwaine hissed, trying his best to prevent the blonde from committing a murder.

"He started it first!" Arthur spat stubbornly.

Suddenly, Cenred's grip on Valiant's jacket slipped and the bully broke free. He sprang forward like a mad animal and hit the golden-haired boy in front of him, gloating when he heard a painful shriek.

Everyone was dead silent.

_That was definitely __**not**__ Arthur's shriek!_ The voice at the back of Valiant's mind informed him. _And he's still standing in front of you!_

Well, that's because his punch didn't hit its original target.

Arthur roared, the roar of a lion, at the sight of Merlin squirming on the ground with his face covered in those too-long sleeves. And it was not until he saw something _red_ on them did he completely lose it.

Shaking himself off Lancelot and Gwaine, who didn't have the heart to stop him anymore after what had happened to Merlin, Arthur slammed Valiant to the wall by the upper front of his shirt and started choking him.

"Arthur, don't." He heard Merlin pleading behind him; his concerned voice was on the verge of breaking. "I'm okay, just ignore him or you'll get yourself suspended!"

The blonde boy relaxed his grip on Valiant's neck. Not that he was afraid of getting suspended but that he didn't want to frighten Merlin. Valiant coughed as the pressure released and prepared to run, but Arthur pin him back against the wall.

"I promise you Valiant Mellor," Arthur said calmly yet threateningly, his face remained cold. "If you _ever_ come near Merlin again, I'll turn your life into a living hell. You know only too well who I am and what I can do, so I suggest you go away and leave my friends alone. Got it?"

When Valiant just stood there and glared up at him, Arthur tightened his grip. "Got it?!"

The bully nodded reluctantly and the young Pendragon let go of him. "Good!" He said, sending the other male one last warning look.

Once Valiant and his gang were gone, Arthur turned around to see Merlin standing with Lancelot and Gwaine; his hair was a mess, his lips were bleeding and swollen. There was also a dark bruise on the left corner of his mouth.

"You!" He spat grumpily, storming over to Merlin as his temper suddenly rose again. "You're not getting away that easily, you _idiot_!"

Then, without another word, Arthur grabbed Merlin by the back collar of his shirt and pushed him away.

_**-End chapter 2-**_


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